Method of applying snap fasteners to articles of manufacture



Dec. 8, 1964 N. M. BARLow ETAL 39%@549 METHOD oF APPLYING SNAP FAsTENERsTo ARTICLES oF MANUFACTURE Original Filed Oct. 21, 1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 1lllll M. BARLOW. MELANSQN ATTQRNEY Dec. 8, 1964 N. M. BARLow ETAL METHOD0F APPLYING SNAP FASTENERS To ARTICLES oF MANUFACTURE original Filedoct. 21, 1958 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 mvENToRs: NQRMAN M. BARLow,

r, Eve; MELANsoN,

RETT J m? N EY.

Dec. 8, 1964 v N. M. BARLow ETAL 3,160,540

METHOD 0F PPLYING SNAP FASTENERS TO ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE originalFiled oct. 21. 195s v sheets-sheet s FIGA.

IO l/ 7 .n 65 65 "Il -fS \NveN'roRs: NORMAN M. BARLow.

EVERETJOMLANsoN, BY ZUE i' ,ATToRNEm Dec. 8, 1964 N. M. BARLow ETAL3,160,540

METHOD 0F' APPLYING SNAP F'ASTENERS TO ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE OriginalFiled Oct. 21, 1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 6 G 1 Ill my-|- .J1 y .y Q, ....mZ?? o 2 i., F o 2 3 u.. ...D 6 45 E 2 2 2 33 4 5 MU. M4./ 21V a AAAA\I\..\\\\\\\\\\\\AQ .i s .s S E. ,I=MH1|IIM. G Lm. 6 n 9 9 s 77 Aw r m 1 37 3 3 ai; .7. a 2 a 5..,5 mun vm 8 u r l L, MVV# ...m ,H. l, 6 myn 3 a@l' 1 W 9 @E j BY EvaRETr/OMELANSON,

d'6 ATTQRNEY.

Dec. 8, 1964 N. M. BARLow ETAL 3,150,540

METHOD 0F APPLYING SNAP FASTENERS TO ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE OriginalF'led'Oct. 2l, V1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 F'IG. l0.

mvEN-r'oRs:

MVV

m, m os R LN O m n Ba A MN NT. AT Mmf me Nm Dec. 8, 1964 N. M. BARLowETAL 3,160,540

METHOD OF' APPLYING SNAP FASTENERS TOYARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE 7Sheets-Sheet '7 Original Filed Oct. 2l, 1958 M i r \NvENroRs NoRmAN M.BAR Low,

EvERf-:TT MELANSON, BY M Ar-roRNav.

United States Patent O M 3,166,541? NETHQD OF APPLYING SNAP FASTENERS'IG ARTICLES F MANUFACTURE Norman M'. Bariow, Natick, and EverettMeianson,

Waireeld, Mam., assignors to United-Carr Incorporated, a corporation ofDelaware riginal application Oct. 21, 1958, Ser. No. 768,769, new PatentNo. 3,949,462, dated Aug. 14, 1962. Divided and this application Dec. 9,1959, Ser. No. 358,486

1 Claim. (Cl. 15d- 66) Our invention aims to provide improvements in themethod of applying snap fastener elements (preferably constructed ofso-called plastic or at least having a plastic base) to any suitablesupporting member. It also provides new and useful apparatus forattaching such fasteners, preferably by the use of a high frequencygenerator as part of the apparatus, whereby the elements may be heatsealed to the suitable supporting member.

This application is a division of our application, Serial No. 768,760,filed October 21, 1958, now U.S. Patent No. 3,049,462.

An object of our invention is to'make plastic snap fasteners, asindividual units such as studs and sockets, put the studs or socketstogether in strip form, feed the strips to a fastener attachingapparatus and then separate the snap fastener members, one or more at atime, from the strip and then apply them to the supporting structure bya new, simple apparatus, preferably by the use of electrically suppliedheat sealing energy.

A further object of our invention is to provide an improved and usefulapparatus that will apply at least one plastic snap fastener to asuitable support at a faster speed than heretofore possible.

A further object of our invention is to feed a strip of fasteners,regardless of the method of manufacture, to a suitable apparatusoperable to pull the fasteners apart and then heat seal them to asuitable supporting material.

A further object of our invention is to provide an improved apparatusthat is simple in construction, positive in operation and provided withfastener holding and attaching tools that may be easily and quicklyoperated to switch from a stud, to a socket attaching means so that onecomplete machine may attach either studs or sockets as desired.

A Vfurther object of our invention is to provide a simple completemachine that needs only to be plugged into an electric Vcurrent supplyto be completely operable as a fastener attaching machine operablepart.y by compressed air and partly by an electric heat-sealinggenerator to attach either part of a snap fastener member as desired,V

it being only necessary to supply the machine with a roll of snapfastener studs lor a roll of snap fastener sockets and make a toolapplying adjustment to certain parts of the machine.

Another obiect of our invention is to provide new and useful methods ofapplying snap fasteners to suitable supporting materials. i

Referring now to the drawings, we have illustrated our invention in partas complete devices and in part by` schematic showings where itis`unnecessary to disclose certain elements which will be well known tothose skilled in the art, the detailed disclosures of which would merelycomplicate the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section, partly brolren away and partlyschematic of an attaching machine showing one form of our invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the machine shown in FIG. 1 showing a threeheaded machine with some parts shown indottedlines; Y

FIG. 3 is a more or less schematic side view of an apparatus Yforassembling the snap fastener members in strip form; Y Y

Y shown in FIG. 33 with onesocket shown in section; and

3,160,540 Patented Dec. 8, 1964 FIG. 4 is a more or less schematic viewin side elevation showing an apparatus for assembly of the fastenersinto strip form and feeding them directly to an apparatus for attachingthe fasteners to a supporting member;

FIG. 5 is a wiring diagram of the electrical apparatus used inconjunction with our attaching machine;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, partly in section, of an attachingrhead ofthe machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front elevation, partly'in section, of a portionof the attaching head shown in FIG 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged section, partly in elevation, taken on the line 88 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of a portion of thehead mechanism shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. it) is a View similar to FIG 9 with other parts broken away andparts moved to a fastener attaching position;

FIG. 11 is a View of the upper portion of the head shown in FIGS. 9 andl0 in retracted position from the position shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. i2 is a section taken on the line 12--12 of FIG 9;

FIG. 13 is a section taken on the line 13-13 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 14 is a section taken on the line 14-14 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged sectional View, with parts in elevation, showingthe fastener'attaching carrier and associated fasteners;

FIG. 16 is a section taken on the line 164-16 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 17 is a section taken on the 1ine17-17 of FIG. 15 showing thepositions of the parts of the device shown in FIG. 15 for applying thestud member of the fastener;

VFIG. 18 isa section showing the normal positions of the parts of thedevice, shown in FIG. 15 to attach the socket member of the snapfastener;

FIG. 19 is a sectional View of a stud holder with a stud shown in dottedlines;

FIG. 2O is a plan view of a stud holder as shown in FIG. 19 without theVstud;

FIG. 2l is a side view of one of the guide plates of the upper headattaching mechanism;

FIG. 22 is an edge view of the guide plate shown in FIG. 21 as viewedfrom the right hand side;

FIG. 23 is a side elevation of a slide plate forming part of the upperattaching head;

FIG. 24 is a section taken on the line 24-24 of FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a side elevation of a second guide plate forming a part ofthe upper head of the attaching machine and cooperating with the slideshown in FIG 23;

FIG. 26 is a side view ofthe cutter shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 27 is a plan view of the cutter shown in FIG. 26;

FIG. 28 is a plan View of the lower heat sealing tool of the attachinghead; I

FIG. 29 is an enlarged section taken on the line 29-29 of FIG. l;

FIG. 30 is a front elevational view of the rotating pawl forming a partof the upper head;

FIG. 31 is a plan View of a portion of a strip of snap fastener studs asviewed from the base side;

FIG. 32 is a side elevation of the strip ofY snap fastenerstuds shown inFIG. 3l;

FIG. 33 is a plan view from the flange side of a portion of a strip ofsnap fastener socket members;

FIG. 34 is a side elevation of a fastener socket strip FIG. 35 is'anenlarged sectional view showing the com-1 plete heat sealed attachmentof a snap fastener part to avv supporting member.

Applicants invention, as illustrated in the drawings and plastic) tovarious articles,'preferably by-fheatfsealing s methods and mechanismsfor performing the desired result.

The methods and apparatus to be described have been perfected andfoundsatisfactory. These methods and a preferred form of attaching apparatuswill be described, but in some instances, as will be understood by thoseskilled -in the art, parts of the apparatus are shown sketchily becausedetailed disclosures and descriptions will be superfluous to thoseskilled in the art.

Referring now to the drawings, we have shown an apparatus for attachingplastic snap fastener socket and stud parts to any suitable material.The attaching apparatus may take various forms depending upon theapplication f the snap fasteners. In the specic apparatus illustrated wehave shown a three-headed attaching machine (FIGS.'1 and 2) useful inattaching either sockets 0r studs as desired to an article such as babypants, which may be of plastic material, woven cloth, or a combinationof both. Thus, we can apply three sockets at a time to an edge of apants. opening and then, as desired, three studs to the opposite edge.

We have shown our apparatus as assembled within and on a stand 1 incabinet-like form (FIG. l). On the top 2 of the stand 1 we have mountedreels 3 of snap fastener studs or sockets in continuous strips 4. Thesestrips s are passed through holes 5 in brackets 6 and then to upperattaching heads 7 having rotating portions S. The construction andoperation of those upper attaching heads will be more specificallyhereinafter described.

Our apparatus also includes a lower attaching tool 9 supported in thetcp 2 of the stand as will be hereinafter described.

Our apparatus includes a so-called high frequency generator 10 suitablymounted within the stand 1. It also includes a main control panel 11, amain timer 12, handoperated switches 13 for controlling the operation ofthe heads of the machine. There is also included in the electrical partof the machine a main switch 14, FIG. 2, and a heat control switch 15.It will also be noted that all three of the switches 13 for controllingthe three heads of the machine are shown -in FIG. 2.

In FIG. l we have shown a foot-operated switch 15 whereby the operatorof the equipment may operate it by the use of the foot while handlingthe garment between the upper and lower heads and attaching tools andwhile the operator is in a seated position.

` With our piece of attaching apparatus it is necessary to move thethree upper attaching heads downwardly toward the lower attaching tools9 during attaching of the snap fastener members to the baby pants orother garment. This movement may be accomplished in various ways bydifferent mechanisms but wehave preferred to operate them by means ofair cylinders 17, FIGS. 1 and 2. While these air cylinders may beoperated from any source of compressed air, wevsnpply an air compressor1S (FIG. 1) in the bottom of the stand 1, and this is con` nected by anysuitable piping 19 to the air cylinders 17. In order to maintain theproper air pressure, we have provided a main air solenoid valve 20 andan air pressure switch 21 all as shown in the lowerrpart of FIG. 1.

To this point we have described inY a general manner the parts and setupof our preferred attaching equipment which comprises a single unit ormultiple units which may be easily moved from piace to place and beready for` operatlon merely by plugging the apparatus into any suitableelectrical supply outlet.

While it should be understood that a plastic socket o r a plastic studmay be heat sealed to Va suitable article ofV commerce such as a babypants by'attaching tools constructed and operating in any suitablemanner, we have provided a simple and ethciently operatingruinrerattaching head which receivesthe strip '4 rof fastener members and is soconstructed and operated that it will separate a fastener member fromthe strip and apply it automatically to th'efbaby pants and then sooperate that it is ready to apply the next fastener from the strip. Thisupper head apparatus is shown in FIGS. 6 through 18 inclusive andcertain detailed parts of this construction are shown in FIGS. 2lthrough 30 inclusive. In describing the up per attaching head '7 whichis supported by the bracket 6, we will include the air cylinder 17 as apart of the head.

This air cylinder 17 receives compressed air through the I pipe 19 andoperates to move a rod 22 in the usual manner of any well known aircylinder, and therefore, while we have shown some of the details of thecylinder, it is unnecessary to explain them.

The fastener applying movable head 3 is attached to the rod 22 thatreciprocates in a bushing 23 held in the bracket 6 by a set screw 24(FIG. 6). 'T his head is made up of one guide plate 25 (FIGS. 6, l2 and25), a slide plate 26 (FIGS. 6, 12, 23, and 24) and a second plate 27(FIGS. 6, 1?., 2l and 22) and a cover plate 28 forming a unit.

The slide plate 26 is attached to the rod 22 by a pivot 29 (FIG. 6)through a block 39 attached to the slide plate 26 by screws 31 (FIGS. 6,12 and 13).

The head also includes the rotating fastener feeding and applying memberS (FIG. 6) mounted on a hollow shaft 33 integral with the member 8 andmounted in the.

slide 26, asbest shown in FIGS. 8 and 17, and held in place by a splitring 34.

The rotating member S has a suitable number of radial bores 35 in eachof which is a slidably mounted inember 35 cooperating with otheroperating means to be described hereafter. These bores 35' are adaptedto receive either the stud or socket members as desired.

Any suitable mechanism can be used to rotate the rotating member 8, butwe prefer to rotate it by means of a pawl 37 mounted on a pivot 3Ssupported by the platesy 25 and 27 (FIGS. 9 and 12) which operates uponpins 39 spaced around the outer face of the rotating member 3. Therotating member 8 is held in a given position when applying a snapfastener member by means of a spring pressed plunger 49 (FIGS. l1 and13) bearing upon two of the pins 39,

The lower attaching tool 9 (FIGS. 1 and 7) is supported the lower partd1 of the bracket 6 and at least the lower part 41 is formed ofinsulating material since the tool 9 forms an electrode as will bedescribed hereafter. This tool-9 supports the baby pants or the like andis in alignment with a .bore of the rotating member S during thefastener attaching operation, as best shown in FIG. 10.

Referring now to the electrical parts of the fastener attachingapparatus shown by the wiring diagram of FIG. 5, we have illustrated onespecific combination of the devices for operation with the mechanicalparts of the apparatus, this diagram covers a machine for attachingthree fastener parts at a time and therefore, it should be understoodthat the electrical equipment will vary according to the desired type ofmachine. lt should also be understood that we realize that the circuitmay vary according to the requirements for the heat sealing of afastener member to a given supporting material.

The diagram of FIG. 5 shows a suitable power supply 42 connected to themain switch 14. There is also shown a so-called manually operated heatcontrol switch 15 connected in the circuit between the power supply andthe high frequency generator 1t). Y

The high frequency generator 10 includes the three transformer symbolsshown enclosed by dotted lines and marked with the numeral 1Q. Thereason for showing three transformer symbols is because we prefer tohave a separate unit controlling the high frequency power to each of thethree heads 7 and lower tools 9 of the attaching equipment. symbolsenclosed Abydotted'lines and numbered 43 and these supply the power tothe usual oscillating tube filaments (not shown). v

The three hand-operated switches 13 are located inthe There are alsoshown three transformer shown enclosed by dotted lines carrying thenumeral 2li. v ln order that we may have individual controlof a machinehaving multiple attaching heads we provide the circuit with three otherair solenoid valves 44.

1t is important to control the length of the time of application of highfrequency power at the electrodes when the snap fastener is applied toits support because different sealing conditions arise in connectionwith different types of applications. To provide the high frequencycontrol time we have used in the circuit a main timer 12 indicated inthe circuit by the relay coil 12a. It should be understood that we havenot shown all of the symbols of the main timer mechanism at 12a becausethe construction and operation of such a device is well known to thoseskilled in the art. However, we have shown three contacts 45, 4-5 and 47in various parts of the diagram but which are actually part of the maintimer 12 (FIG. 1) the purposes of which will be more fully describedhereafter.

We have also illustrated a time delay timer 4S operati.

ing 'm the circuit to maintain the electrodes of the attachn ing head orheads incovntact with the work during the sealing operation. Thisprovides al short period of time,-

( actually part of the time delay timer 48) is also shown l in thecircuit (FiG. 5).

We have provided a foot operated switch 16 (which could just as well behand operated) vbecause it is easy for the. operator to use while his orher hands are busy holding the work. This switch '16 when operatedcauses actuation of the main solenoid valve 29 which in turn closes theair pressure switch 21 and energizes the relay coil 12a and which inturn energizes a mercury relay Si?. This mercury relay Si? causesoperation of a mercur] Contact 5i (actually apart of the relay 5! butshown separated therefrom in the diagram for convenience). Three fusesSZ are shown in the power supply lines to the. high frequency generatorsfor the usual protection. It should be understood that the circuitdisclosed in FlG. 5 is laid out Vfor convenience and that some symbolsthat should Vform parts lof the various electrical devices have beenomitted (such as tubes, internal wiring of the high frequency generatorsand the wiring diagramof the main timer,` etc.) because to addthemjwould create confusion in the disclosure. These omittedsymbols areunnecessary because any person skilled in the ait will understmd what isrequired Vfrom thedescription of the complete cycle of the equipmentwhich follows later in the specification. Y

While the apparatus we have been describing` may be arrangedtot'jat'tach either snap'fastener studs or vsnap fastener sockets, weprefer to provide means whereby the same equip-ment may be easilyswitched from one to the other so thatfasingle piece of apparatus willprovidev amanufacturerV with all he-needsrto apply Vboth parts of adesired snap fastener. Y i Y 1n the apparatus illustrated by-thedrawings we haveA incorporated .in each, rotor 8 anY axially sliding pin53 (FIGS. v17 and 1 8) cooperating with stud holders 36 slidably mountedlin the-radial bores V35.V Y Each stud'holder (EHESS. l7,`18 and 19);has-'a Vstud receiving bore 55 and a phi-like `contacting shank 576.`lThese Shanks 56Y engage Y associated directly with our apparatusheretofore ded in a groove 5,7 in the pin 53 (FIG. 18) when out ofstudreceiving position (socket receiving positions) and are engaged withthe outer surface of the pin (FIG. 17) when in stud-receiving position.

The operating pin 53 is held in either of the two positions justmentionedkby a spring-pressed ball 58 cooperating with grooves 59 and6l) in the pin 53 as best shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. Therefore, when thepin 53 is moved to the position shown in FlG. 17, the stud holders 36are moved radially outwardly and snap fastener sockets cannot be fedthrough the machine because these holders prevent portions of thesockets from entering the radial bores 35. However, the stud heads ofthe snap fastener studs may enter into the bores 55 provided in the studholders 36 and thus be carried around by the rotor 8 into applyingpositions.

When the pin 53 is in the position shown in HG. 18, the stud holders 36may be moved radially inwardly thereby exposing the upper ends of thebores 35 and admitting portionsof the socketsso that they may be rotatedinto applying positions by the rotor S.

While we have illustrated and described apparatus that might be used toapply various types of snap fastener studs and sockets, we prefer to usethe apparatus to apply snap fastener studs 61 and sockets 62, preferablymade of heat scalable plastic materials. These may be fed individuallyto the apparatus, but we prefer to feed them in strip form so that thefeeding means may be very simple in construction and the fastenerstherefore may be supplied on reels 3.

A preferred form of strip is shown by FGS. 31and 32 whereby the studs 61have anges 63 that mayf` be heat sealed together in edge to edgecontact. -The sockets 62 are also best sealed together in the samemanner as shown in FIGS. 33y and 34.

Our improved methods of making the fastener strips and supplying thefasteners to the attaching apparatus are best shown in FIGS. 3 and InFIG. 3 we have shown, in a schematic manner, a method which includesproviding a hopper 64 into which individual snap fastener studs 61 orsockets 62 are placed and suitably fed down a track 65 to heat sealingelectrodes 66 and 67. Any suitable means may be used to operate theelectrodes for the heat sealing operation, as by Ian air cylinder 68 anda high frequency generator 69. 1 VAs the stud 61 passed through the heatsealing electrodes their ilanges 63 are in edge to edge contact and theelectrodes yare shaped to heat seal the edges together and formconnections io as best shown in FlG. 31.- Two or more stud franges l63may be sealed in each operation of the electrodes and they may be sealedasa continuing or intermittent operation as will be understood by thoseskilled in the art.

Thereafter the continuous strip of fasteners is fedV through rollers 71to a driven reel 3 as illustrated.

If desirable, the mechanism for feeding and heat sealing the. fastenermembers in edge to edge contact may be scribed and the strip feddirectly to the rotor S (or rotors) as shown by FIG. 4. Thus wehaveprovided new, useful and simple methods and mechanisms for assemblingthe fastener members into strips landthen feeding these strips' toapparatus that will separate `them and attach them to suitablesupporting materials preferably by-hi'gh frequency heat sealing power.

explain the operation of our equipment during a complete cycleof'thesarne. l Y f n The operator lirstv snaps on they mainjswitchuld'lnected tothe main Velectric'power supply-then snaps on lthe heatcontrol switch l5 'and 1finally the switchV or switches 13' thereby'preparing 'the apparatusV for operation. The air compressor V318 isnowin operation. TheV 7 filament circuits of the oscillator tubes of thehigh h'equency generator are now energized.

The operator now inserts the work, to which fasteners are to be applied,between the upper attaching head or heads 7 and the lower `attachingtool or tools 9. Then the operator steps on the foot switch 16 therebycausing power to flow to the open coil of the main air solenoid valve2i). The valve 20 admits air through the suitable piping 19 to the aircylinders 17 of the upper attaching heads 7. The air pressure thenforces the rods 22 downwardly thereby pushing the rotating portions ofthe heads toward the Work.

Since the strip of fasteners 4 previously has been threaded into therotating head portion 8 and the head has been operated sufficient timesto separate a fastener member from the strip and locate it in a bore 55in alignment with the lower tool 9, the fastener will be brought intocontact with the work as shown in FIG. 10. At this point, fouradditional fastener members are separated from the strip and eachlocated in a separate bore 35, as best shown in FIG. 15. One unseparatedfastener member is in a bore 35 at this point of the operation as willalso be seen in FIG. 15.

A fastener member now being in sealing position, the air pressure in thecylinders 17 has been brought up to about 20 pounds, and when thispressureV is reached, air pressure switch 21 closes. This switch 21 wiiloperate to energize the relay of the main timer 12. At this point itshould be noted that the air pressure switch 21 willY not energize therelay of the timer 12 unless the operator has removed his or her footfrom the foot switch 16. The main timer 12, which is so constructed thatit may be timed to any desired time setting, is now brought intooperation by the main timer relay. At the same time, the main timerrel-ay closes Contact 47 (FIG. 5), and this in turn energizes the coilof the mercury 1relay 50.

Mercury relay 5i) now operates to close mercury contact 51 (FIG. 5)thereby causing power to flow to they plate transformer primaries of thehigh frequency generator 10.

)Vhen the high frequency generator is supplied with power it in turnwill generate yhigh frequency power as will be understood by thoseskilled in the art. This power is applied to the fastener and the workthroughV the rotating portion 8 and the lower'tool 9 by means ofsuitable conductors 72 Iand 73 attached to the high frequency generator1() (FIG. l). Thus the fastener is heat sealed to the work by heatcreated within the two while pressed together between the attachingtools.

At the end of the time cycle of the mainrtimer 12, a second relay (notsh wn but part of the timer assembly) operates to open contact 46 (FIG.5) thereby de-energizing the mercury relay 59. Contact'Sl now opens andstops generation of high frequency power at the work.

A short cooling time, about l/oto W10 of a second is required before thework is released so that the softened plastic may chill and not deform.

Y At the end of the time cycle of the main timer 12 the second relay(not shown) also closes the contact e5 (at the same time it openscontact 46). Closing contact 45 energizes the time delay timer 48 (FIG.5) thereby initiating the cooling time period described above. Thisdelay timer is adjustable aswill be understood by those skilled in theart. When the cooling period has been completed the time delay timer 4Scloses contact 49 which in turn energizes the close coil of the main airsolenoid valve 20.V Thus air supplyis shut off from the compressor 18and 19; The springs in the air cylinder will now operate to raise therotors 8 and permit the Yoperator to remove the Work.

Cil

'air is released from theair cylinder 17 and the piping When airpressure drops below 20 pounds, air pressure g switch 21 automaticallyopens. ,ThisV de-energizes the f Arst mentioned'relay of main timer-'12Vwhich in turn automatically resets the circuit in preparation for thenext cycle. Y

the distance E (FIG. 15) between the centers of the` fasteners. Thestretching distance D is suiiicient to cause the fasteners to beseparated at their point of connection with each other (at the fiangesas shown in FIG. 3l). As a safety feature in case the fasteners are notseperated by the stretching action just described, a cutter 54 ismounted on the head 7 (FIGS. 9, 10, 15 and 16). The cutting position isshown in FIGS. 9, 15 and 16 when the rotating head is at the uppermostend of its movement.

Also during the upward movement of the rotor 8 the separated fastener ispushed into position in a bore 35 by the sloping shoulder as best shownin FIG. 15.

Rotation of the rotor 8 also pulls the fastener strip 4 from the reel 3thereby eliminating any necessity for complicated feeding mechanisms.

The heat control switch 15 is manually operable. When open it permitsoperation of the machine except that it prevents flow of high frequencypower to the attaching members. This is particularly desirable whensetting the strip into position through the rotating head 8 preparatory`to the first fastener being in the proper position for the firstcomplete cycle of the machine. This also permits intentional operationof the heads without sealing and as an aid in servicing and examinationof movingY parts for inspection of the machine.

If the operator fails to remove his or her foot from the foot switch 15,the heads of the machine will operate but no further operation of themachine is permitted. This prevents continuous accidental cycling.

If the operator accidentally steps on the foot switch 16 at any point inthecycle the circuit automatically adjusts itself to that point wherethe work and the fastener are in the heat sealing position regardless ofwhat point the circuit has been operated beyond the heat'sealingposition. Therefore, when the operator releases the foot switch 16, thecycle is completed from that point on. The circuit is automaticallyreset by the operation of the main timer mechanism 12.

It will'be understood that the apparatus we have described may be one ormore sets of attaching tools depending on how many fastener parts arerequired to be attached during one cycle of the machine. The equipmentis adapted to attach all studs, or all sockets, or even a combination ofstuds and sockets by theuse of multiple heads. This will be understoodby our description and disclosure of the easily adjustable means formedas part of each rotating head and more specifically described above. Onehead `can be set for studsY and another for sockets depending upon theposition of the axially sliding pin 53.

Some of .the parts of our apparatus (such as the main timer 12, the mainair solenoid valve 20, time delay timer 48, and mercury relay 50)haveinot been shown in detail Ybecause they may be standard commercialunits and their construction and operation will be understood by anyoneskilled in the art of high frequency heatsealing.

Furthermore, the complete showing ofthe air pipingY by anyone skilled inthe art of attaching equipment and heat sealing. f v

" Between the various figures shown Iin the drawings and the descriptionabove we havefdisclosed ,all that is neces- Y sary fora person skilledin the art to construct our inventions. It should be understood that wehave described a 9 preferred type of apparatus, methods of operation ofsuch apparatus and improved fasteners for operation with such apparatusand methods, but We should not be limited thereby because our inventionsare best dened by the following claim.

We claim:

The method of making a continuous strip of plastic snap fastenercomponents for use in automatic snap fastener component applying andsealing equipment comprising molding the plastic snap fastenercomponents as separate, individual pieces, each of said snap fastenercomponents having a thin, heat scalable, plastic ange portion having asubstantially at under surface and a plastic snap fastener portionextending from the opposite surface thereof, placing the individual snapfastener components in hopper means, continuously feeding said fastenercomponents in a continuous line from the hopper means with the angeportion of each in edge to edge contact with the next succeedingcomponent to a sealing zone, applying sealing means to the ange portionsof the fastener components as they pass through the sealing zone to heatseal the flange portion of each fastener component to the ange portionof the next succeeding fastener component and to form a severableattaching portion of less width than the flange portion between saidange portions, and continuously withdrawing the formedV continuous stripof snap fastener components from the sealing zone.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,397,801 Mitchell Apr. 2, 1946 2,709,290 Rosenthal May 31, 19552,779,385 Carlzen et al Jan. 29, 1957 2,790,480 Lithio Apr. 30, 19572,796,110 Dahlberg June 18, 1957

